Open Mic is a tradition founded by Spacedaddy Warren. I'm experimenting with launching it on Fridays rather than Sundays, on the grounds that most of us have accumulated a working-week's-worth of toxicity and hatred, and the sooner we can trepan our collective psyches the better.

To paraphrase herr Ellis:

This is your judgement-free space to vent, get stuff out of your head and otherwise experience special Internet Catharsis. Screaming into a well, 21C-style.

Instructions: Tell us about your week. Tell us what you hate, what you love, what's pissing you off. Tell us what's broken about the world, tell us what you want. Tell us how you plan to change everything, tell us what you're building in your basement, or, hell, just dance or play a tune.

I, we, and all of us are here for you. Smash your wordvenom against us.

I'm out of work, and the timing on it so exquisite because my wife is about to give birth -- so I need to find work again FAST. I have an interview for next week, but it's in no way a sure thing. I'm pissed off at the situation, and the only two things keeping me sane are my amazing wife and the love we feel for each other and our coming child, and to a lesser extent, the new website I've launched with a friend that is having some modest success (but of course not so much that it would actually generate any money, oh if only).

However, being the editor of said website is getting me a press badge to Wizard World Chicago this weekend, so I'm hoping to attend today and tomorrow, have a relaxed time and make some connections, and decompress a bit.

I just got turned down for a job that I really wanted. I had an interview for this job earlier in the year and was rejected, and this time I was the runner-up candidate. If the person who got the job turns down the terms of their contract then they'll make it work with me, so I'm told. I'm holding out no hope of that happening whatsoever.

Thus begins a fucking shitty weekend.

Tequila, meet liver. I believe you two are already very well acquainted.

EDIT: Apologies for the downer. There are good things going on in my life and I really shouldn't let the bad news ruin the good.

After eight months of yelling at insurance reps my house, as of this week, has been completely repaired. In December there was an "escape of water" (read: FLOOD OF DEATH FROM MY MOTHERFUCKING FROZEN-OVER COLD WATER TANK) but, as me and my partner had the hindsight to insure ourselves for such an occurrence, we protected ourselves completely. AXA forked out for complete replastering, redecoration and refurnishing of our house. It goes without saying it looks a lot fucking better than it used to. "Celebrations" (see prior negativity) are happening with my in-laws this weekend, although as of now I have both celebrations and commiserations to keep in mind when I approach the weekend.

Well, my day job work week's been ok and uneventful, still only doing 4 days since it's quiet which means not as much moolah to go out.On the fun bits, finally started doing an 8-pager for a local comic anthology. Slow and steady...is it always this slow?! Sorry, I'm still new at this and learning as I go. Currently slugging through an 12 panel page...educational but wanna strangle the writer...lol. Keeping focus seems to be the tricky thing as my mind keeps wandering. Looks like the weekend's gonna be comic creation and lots of movies running in the background. Deep breath.... I will finish this!!!hope everyone has a fun weekend.

I got a new chair for my drawing desk at home - but the back broke off of the very next day. My wife and I were about to drown in debt and bills and after over a year I finally got a job I started this week. It's menial and brainless, but I get to play with a talking laser gun all day, so that's something I guess except the only thing you can kill with it is barcodes. It just annoys the piss out of everything else. Unfortunately, I'm only a temp, so I'm really hoping the 'to hire' part was sincere.

All of which means that the shiny new Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 that I was gifted is forced to sit by idle and unlearned most days because I come home from work pretty well exhausted. It's been a while since I've had a lot of physical work to do, and suddenly having 8 intense hours of it daily leaves an immediate mark. I've melted off several pounds already, and my pants that used to fit snug are loose again.

Today I had to deal with the fucking bureaucrats at the RTA about my long-delayed learners' drivers license. I don't need or want a fucking car or I would've gotten it at sixteen, but I need ID for clubs (I was using my old expired passport for ages but then I lost it) and it costs the same as getting a proof of age card, so I figured I would accommodate the possibility that I might want to learn to drive in the next few years.

Except it turns out I wasted my time and have to come back next week because my godamn citizenship certificate isn't the right kind of citizenship certificate and my birth certificate is in Russian. So I either have to deal with STILL MORE BUREAUCRATS to get a ~more acceptable version~ of my naturalisation document, or dig up an English translation of my birth certificate and proof I entered the country. I mean, aside from me fucking standing there.

I just got fired, two hours ago. Woke bright-eyed for a long day of work (newly opening place, lots of cleanup/setup to be done), did two hours, got told nonchalantly to come upstairs, put into the office, and fired. They refused to give an explanation because, well, they can. Other than "We're a corporation and you're not very corporate," I don't know what I did. Last week I was told I was being kept in mind to be bumped up to supervisor. This week, fired. Whaaaaaaat.

Joke's on them, though, I'm still claiming EI, and since the ROE will say "let go" instead of "quit" I just lucked into $1500 of gov't money a month. Still, my dignity is bruised, and I really want an explanation. Serves me right for accepting the job in the first place, I guess. I just wish they had told me about the uniforms during the hiring process.

In other news, my FM broadcaster is up and running. Had to resolder one component that had come loose, but that was it. Pretty good, for months of neglect and then a cross-province move. So, I'm playing Lou Reed's "I'm So Free" all over the house.

Hrm, what now? Maybe I'll get a part-time bartending job. Maybe I'll... not. Maybe I'll actually do creative work for a change! Ooh! I do have a few articles that need writing. And a paper that might need copyediting help, and stuff.

I've had a pretty good week all in all. Vended for the first time at a bondage workshop and possibly found a new partner in kink, which is cool. Got some greeting cards in and they look amazing so that shop will probably be going live in the next day or two. It's an interesting twist in my life.

But god DAMN I'm sick of the scolds near me.

I had a really fun/bizarre/WTF! shoot last weekend with two girls (burlesque friends) who wanted to do a scene of one of them dressed up as a unicorn assaulting the other, dressed as a princess, in some pretty fun/bizarre/see above ways. It was weird, we were all kind of uncomfortable since it is a touchy subject but there are some really damned good pictures in there.

And, of course, the minute I mention this shoot online, I get a couple of folks who think it Just Isn't Funny! And there went that day right in the shitter. Being lectured at that my friends and I need to see shrinks because we have these kinks, that we're obviously spending our days fantasizing about abusing people and that they will never ever ever ever ever ever work with people like us again!

Which A) is a relief and B) is a lie because one of them is working a show with a girl who does an act that involves assaulting some poor guy who just isn't that into her.

So fuck the scolds. To hell with anyone offended with the premise of a piece before ever seeing it or wasn't there at its conception.

Hmm, well I'm on my second coffee, so I think I have the energy for this.

The week sort of exploded with the revealing of my Secret Project (with an explanation behind the concept following on my site) and it's been getting some really good feedback and I think I'm going to go with my idea to turn it in to a series. Already have ideas for victims of Poison Ivy, Clayface and the mad Hatter, so we'll see where it goes. Regardless, it's a fun personal project to work on.

And a line from Clive Barker's The Hellbound Heart (which I read for the first time last week) has really got my imagination going and leaving me inspired and thinking of where I could take it:"The condition of its flesh beggared her imagination -the hooks, the scars. Yet its voice, when it spoke, was not that of a creature in pain."

Personal-wise not too much to report. I got a really sweet e-mail from someone last weekend that made me smile and has so far put to rest any low self-esteem. I also seem to be patching up some friendships that have been gradually separating apart, which is great. I'm also getting bonuses at work now for every time we get a new client. So hooray, I might actually be able to save up for something. Like an apartment.

I didn't go to boxing this week, as I was feeling completely out of sorts. Next week I get back to it and I can't wait.

Beer-wise, my homebrew Audacious Bitch is done aging in the bottle and...it needs work. The elements are there and god knows I don't need to remove anything, but something needs to be added to give it more of a body and texture to the taste. Hell, I stirred a spoonful of honey in a pint of it and it just made it all the better. But I'm not saddened by it. Beer making is a SCIENCE and everyone knows that Science demands experimentation before obtaining perfection. I'll get it right next batch. :)

I've applied for a part time job at the retail section of the brewpub of a Toronto brewery whose beers I'm really fond of. I hope I get it.

Tonight (9pm EST) is my google+ Thirsty Wench Beer Workshop on stouts. We're all bringing one Guinness and one local brew to talk about. I need to get my research on for that style (and especially the makings of Guinness) and head over to a brewery for a particular stout I have in mind. Just before I go home though, I'm off to a pub where a brewery I like is having a sampling.

And that's all. This weekend I'll be meeting a friend, but otherwise swimming, eating a pizza and sleeping. Because I've EARNED IT.

To politics - I wish I could quit you! This week's political news has me wanting to move myself and family to a small island in the middle of nowhere and ignore the rest of the world. We had the stupid political theater of our government over the debt ceiling with the god damn Republicans openly admitting to holding the process hostage in order to push through a bunch of bullshit cuts that, ultimately, won't do a damn toward the deficit because, additionally, they didn't add any new revenue coming into the government to balance rising expenditures. And now, because of the way that our Congress acted, stocks are falling faster than Charlie Sheen's career and we're probably going to go back into a recession because of those right-wing douchebags. The GOP has, even more so, lots its god damned mind and its sad because I believe that we do need conservatives, real ones, to make our political process work and to keep the more liberal liberals balanced. Instead we get this bullshit.

Then there's last night GOP debate which was filled with so many untruths and crap that I'm wondering how they didn't all choke to death from the sewage. I hate the fact that so many of my countrymen fall for this bullshit, and it's not even cleverly disguised bullshit either, and eat it like its fucking candy. And when I think that one of those smug fuckers standing behind the podium, or that god-botherer Rick Perry, getting to take a crack at the Presidency fills my heart with fear. I know liberals and those on the left look at the GOP presidential line-up and think that none of them stand a chance but if history has shown us anything its that the Democrats are incredibly skilled at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and cocking up a sure thing. Our country is going tits up and no one in power seems to care and no one who is actually getting hurt seems to mind either.

Then there's London which looks positively fucked from this side of the pond. I don't know enough of the situation to comment but my heart goes out to those people who were hurt as a result of people's frustrations and anger at the situation (or their selfish opportunistic use of a bad situation to hurt others because they think they can get away from it).

Other than that this week hasn't been bad. I have an awesome wife and partner, a growing and health son, I've been writing, gaming, and seeing some friends. Other than the downer that is politics and the state of the country I don't have a lot to complain about. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Today's the last day of my two week holiday. OK - I have the weekend, but will probably spend that getting more and more tense about going back on Monday - I don't think I'll be able to come up for air again until the end of September. Has been a bit of a mixed bag - we managed to do a few of the things we planned - lots of picnics, a theme park for the kids, met up with my parents, I managed one swim in the sea before the weather turned crap - but I've been fairly depressed throughout, and never fully relaxed, which has been really frustrating . I'd really wanted to make music too, but that just hasn't worked - seemed to have just lost it, my guitar playing has been really clumsy and ham-fisted, and then stuff kept breaking - desktop PC randomly crashing, laptop power socket intermittently fails and the damn thing crashes, have also wasted loads of time trying to sort out stupid driver problems on it, with the net result that I've made it worse than ever. In its defence, Toshiba make them quite tough - I really lost the plot last night and gave it a few pretty hefty punches, which it surprisingly survived. So in all, I don't think I've been great company for my partner and kids - bad tempered and snappy and rubbing them all up the wrong way.

And there were the riots. The nasty authoritarian bullshit from the right wing has been pretty depressing too, just feel very sad and despondent watching it all and its aftermath. Lucky to be nowhere near it - my sister, who is pretty unwell right now was near to trouble in Lewisham - she's now staying with a friend in Croydon, so just hoping nothing kicks off there again.

This week was our second anniversary of moving into this house (which we'd forgotten until today) and today is also the 14th anniversary of my partner and I getting together (although we did have an 18 month split in the middle), which is quite sweet I suppose, she's somehow put up with my Olympic-level bastard moroseness for all that time and we've managed to spawn three she-babies...

So tonight I'm going to drink and be merry and try and put the sad aside and celebrate a little. I may try doing something cathartic like writing down and incinerating some of the things that are pissing me off right now - that might help, and can't hurt...

I had to cancel my Burning Man trip this week. I cried my eyeballs out for about 3 days straight, yesterday being the third. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into the 4th day. It also triggered a mini-depression; partly because I can't go, but partly because of why I can't go, the details of which I won't be talking about for the sake of my internet privacy. Needless to say it's gotten in the way of my life before, and I'm getting fed up with it.

Day before yesterday I was going to pre-order the special edition of Bjork's "Biophilia," (the manual edition, not the Ultimate Edition), and couldn't because I ordered black toiled paper from Fab.com and the fuckers keep authorizing my card, and every time they do it, it fucks with my available balance. So I tried again last night, which was still Aug 11 for me (preordering closes on Aug 12), and it was already closed by then. So now I'm stuck without this amazing special edition of an album that I really, really wanted. I've never purchased a special edition of an album before. And I know at the end of the day it's just something materialistic, but....it was really great art.

Good news is I'm losing weight still. Down to 168ish now. I'm getting stronger - I can do a real pushup again (though still training with modified pushups), and I can almost do crow's pose. I realized yesterday that it's a really good thing that I've gotten into the habit of exercising, because it's one of the few things I currently have. It costs nothing (but free time, of which I have a lot currently), is a thing in which I can experience progression, and is really good for my health. So, exercise is kind of what my world is currently revolving around.

Other good news is that since I can't make Burning Man, I've taken up the responsibility of hosting a Balsa Man (balsaman.org) in San Diego, which makes me the regional lead for San Diego. Basically it's a tiny version of Burning Man. The effigy is only 2.5 feet tall, and the community is encouraged to bring their own tiny art, which then gets burned. It's a short event, only a couple hours, so no huge stress planning it, but should be lots of fun. I've been having a hoot looking through the San Fransisco Balsa Man Flickr and seeing all their teeny tiny art. They even give out art grants as small as $1 to fund the works, haha.

Yesterday I found out that the company I work for lost a tender to supply the company I work at (It does make sense if you look closely) with staff. Upon asking the company I work at what was going to happen, they explained it was the job of the company I work for to tell me, Even after dropping hints, there is nothing, the people I work for have a great track record for keeping things to themselves, possibly in the hope that if they ignore it it's not real, but for me, it means I'm now on dismissal anxiety and I didn't even have time to go loot myself any saleable items this week. This week has consisted of a lot of cat-sitting, for my own cats, who live with Misat0, as much as I love them, I don't care where they got the unnering ability to start sniffing my eyelids at exactly 06:35 from, but I want them to stop it, as waking up in the morning before 07:45 has left me at times, wanting to vomit, in a quite literal fashion. I am in two minds as to whether or not I should buy a tattoo gun. It's never too late to start something you love.I am old, and forever retroactively styling. I've reached the early 1940's. (This is not true, but the quiff is too much work in the morning)I finally grew some facial hair into some kind of shape. It might not be much, but having got to 38 without any beard ever, in a forum full of hairylovefaces, it's a small comfort.

Some of you who know me have noticed that I come back here these days. I've been missing you but was unable to do everything that life asks me to do. Also, the most amazing story is happening to me: a friend of mine, who was a heroin addict, died a couple of months ago. He was such a trickster that all the posse we used to be had gone their way, and stopped seeing one another. Yet, we gathered on his funerals. We are scattered all over France and Ireland. We have started meeting on a regular basis again (in fact: a secret page on Facebook which we visit several times a day) The fact is we were a band at the time, that was 20 years ago. We have decided to play music together again. Without that dead bastard. And shit, it feels good.

Working all damn week in a furniture store building all by my fucking self. Sometimes it tries to get to me but I just draw all day or go buy comics to stay sane. Relative connected to me died so lately I reeeeally find it hard to give a fuck if some stupid mattress or night stand is out of some shithead's price range. I just do not care about these flip-flop wearing zombies coasting through life like complacent little mutants.

Anyway, it is nice to know you care enough to bring back Open Mic, Si. When you showed up you're writing style made me think "This guy writes like he's super into himself!" but it takes getting used to. All part of the transitional period. Warren has been a big part of my/our lives but it appears the time has finally come to leave the nest and do great things on our own now. Hope you appreciate the honesty.